High-tech analysis equipment to boost
	Ringing the changes: New element tracing equipment will assist in charting climate change using fish earbones
By Julian Lee The ANU and the University of Canberra will buy two highly-technical, world-class scientific instruments following grants of more than half a million dollars. Funds totalling $573,000 - including $208,000 from the ANU's 1998 Major Equipment Grant, $250,000 from the ARC Research Infrastructure (Equipment and Facilities) and $115,000 from various ANU departments and faculties - will enable the purchase of two machines able to analyse a wide range of elements down to the ultra-trace level. The money will go towards establishing an Advanced Analytical Facility for Environmental and Resource Management Sciences. The Facility will comprise two complementary inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry instruments. One of the machines, unrivalled in its ability to analyse solid samples will be located at ANU's Geology Department. The other will specialise in analysis of waters and dissolved solid samples and will be based at the University of Canberra. "We are very pleased that our department was able to attract such large funding," ANU's Geology Department head, Professor Richard Arculus, said. Good analysis relies on sample preparation and vapourisation. The ANU's machine will incorporate new laser ablation technology - a highly precise method of vapourising the sample - developed over five years by a team headed by Dr Stephen Eggins in Geology. "The machine will be able to analyse up to 30 elements on a 50-micrometre spot, at one part per billion, in 60 seconds," Dr Eggins said. These specifications represent unparalleled range, detail, precision and speed. "Picking the right wavelength was the key to being able to do multi-analysis in geological and biological samples. The machine uses a very short wavelength which reacts well with these types of samples." Dr Eggins said. In the past these machines were slower and less precise and unable to do measurements on very small sample areas. Dr John Kalish of the Division of Botany and Zoology will, using the new machine, be able to examine growth rings in individual fossilisedfish earbones. Much like looking at growth rings on trees, he can see how Australia's climate has changed. The ability to take measurements on a 50 micrometre spot - about the diameter of a human hair - will enable climate-change data to be broken down on a weekly rather than yearly scale. "It is impossible to do such work on other machines. I would have had to dissolve whole ear bones together which would only give a long-term average," Dr Kalish said. "Another advantage of the machine is that it uses a relatively non-destructive technique which allows researchers to go back and make repeat measurements in adjacent regions of a sample." The new instruments are designed to update and work in conjunction with a machine in the Research School of Earth Sciences that is five years old. The new machines should be installed by mid-1998. While the funding is substantial, it is still more than $100,000 short of the total $700,000 needed to purchase the two machines. However Prof Arculus said he expected industry would make up the shortfall. Already there have been talks with external and overseas researchers wanting to use the machines. However, access will be severely limited.